Audio version

DECEMBER MIDWINTER 2016 PREVIEW COGNOTES 3

Time to Book Your Room in Boston

The majority of the conference will take place in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC), but there are also some sessions at various hotels, depending on the unit sponsoring them. Detailed location information for sessions will be available when the Scheduler opens.

How to book a hotel room

You must already be registered for the conference to reserve a hotel room.

If you are already registered individually or through the bundle, please access your personalized registration dashboard via your registration confirmation email to access the hotel booking system. Your password is your confirmation/attendee ID. Any registration-related questions can be directed to CompuSystems at 708-486-0706 or alaregistration@compusystems.com.

You must be registrered to book a room. If you need assistance with anything housing-related please contact our housing vendor onPeak at 800-584-9047 or ala@onpeak.com.

Accessibility

If you try accessing the registration system with an assistive technology and experience difficulty, please call CompuSystems at 708-486-0706 or 866-513-0760.

If you require accessibility assistance to book your housing, please call onPeak at 800-584-9047, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CST.

Hotel Reservation Deadlines and Information

You must be registered for the Midwinter Meeting to make a housing reservation. Hotel reservation requests will be accepted until December 18, 2015, subject to availability. Rates are quoted for the room, not per person, and all rooms are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Special rates are available only when you book directly with onPeak. All rooms are subject to applicable tax. All requests must include six choices.

Make sure to give accurate dates of arrival and departure for everyone occupying the requested room. PLEASE NOTE: onPeak does not assume the responsibility of pairing guests for double occupancy or in multiple housing units. After December 18, 2015, onPeak will continue to make reservations on a space available basis only (i.e., register early to get the hotel of your choice).

Hotel Confirmations, Cancellations, or Changes

Confirmation of the room reservation will be acknowledged by the travel desk and sent within 72 hours. If you have any questions regarding your reservation, or to make changes or cancellations, contact onPeak at 800-584-9047, not the hotel. One night's room and tax guarantee to a credit card is required to hold hotel reservations. All changes and/or cancellations prior to December 30, 2015, must be made through onPeak. After January 3, 2016, changes and cancels must be made direct to the hotel at least 72 hours prior to arrival date for most hotels.

Don't be a “No Show”

If you have a confirmed room reservation and find that you are unable to attend the conference, be sure to notify the ALA Housing Desk or the hotel holding your reservation. If you don't, the room will be left vacant (when it could be used by another attendee), and you will lose your deposit.

Accept No Substitutes

Please be aware that there are companies out there that claim to provide housing and registration services for the ALA conferences that are not affiliated with ALA in any way. The chances are quite good that sometime soon you will receive a fax, email transmission, or phone call, if you have not already, that offers you cut-rate housing. The intent is to convince you that the offer is made on behalf of ALA. It is not.

DON'T BE MISLED!

Housing for ALA's Annual Conference and Midwinter Meeting is handled exclusively by onPeak.

Everyone loves a bargain. Poaching housing blocks, however, is not about better prices — it is about highly suspect ethics and service.

When ALA secures sleeping rooms at hotels for conferences it is done in order to assure that our attendees and exhibitors are adequately accommodated. ALA also needs the hotels for meeting space for the numerous sessions. This involves contracting the rooms and space with many hotels, but doing so exposes the Association to cancellation and attrition policies. We hope you will support ALA's efforts to thwart the efforts of room block poachers when making your housing arrangements.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE HOTEL AMENITY CHART

CLICK HERE TO VIEW A MAP OF THE HOTEL LOCATIONS

COGNOTES

ISSN: 0738-4319 • Volume 2016 Issue II

Senator Cory Booker to Speak at ALA President's Program

Rising United States Senator Cory Booker—widely recognized as an accessible and energetic new voice of politics—will join ALA President Sari Feldman as speaker on her President’s Program at ALA Midwinter Meeting. This program, in partnership with the ALA Task Force on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, will take place on Sunday, January 10, 3:30-5:30pm.

Senator Cory Booker makes the case through his work, and in his forthcoming book United, that connection and compassion must guide our nation toward a brighter future. As was Mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013, and became the first black Senator from New Jersey in 2013.

In response to the New Jersey Library Association’s statement expressing disappointment about his appearance on the President’s Program in light of the library cuts during his time as Mayor of Newark, Feldman said, “Building relationships with policy makers and influencers, many of whom have not historically been library advocates, is essential to our profession today and into the future. ... Featuring Senator Booker in the President’s Program presents an opportunity to educate a rising national leader about the ways in which libraries transform individuals and communities.”

Attendees are encouraged to help inform and influence a key US politician about the value of libraries in the areas he speaks and writes about with such passion, including equity, civic engagement, community progress, individual opportunity, inclusion, and economic growth. “Let’s take this opportunity to inspire the Senator to be a positive, supportive voice for America’s libraries. Let’s show him that libraries transform,” said Feldman.
Booker’s appearance at the ALA Midwinter Meeting is sponsored by Penguin Random House.

Senator Cory Booker

ALA President's Program Sunday Jan. 10, 3:30 - 5:30 p.m.

Sen. Cory Booker

ADVERTISEMENT

Don't miss our Spring'16 titles!

“[Radioactive] would make a lovely companion to Steve Sheinkin's Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon.”

—SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

WORKMAN is a registered trademark of Workman Publishing Co., Inc.